Three Simple Things You Can Do For a Fresher Breath

Do you have bad breath or are you paranoid that you might have halitosis? If you answered in the affirmative, then there are five things which you ought to do:

1. Maintain a good (or brush up on your) dental hygiene regimen.

Just like everything else which affects your oral health, adhering to a strict dental hygiene regimen is your first line of defense. Bad breath is primarily caused by bacteria. These oral pathogens proliferate in your mouth regardless of whether you brush or not but when you aren’t that particular with your oral health, the populations of your oral bacteria skyrocket to a point where they produce foul-smelling metabolites in quantities which significantly affect the quality of your breath. And don’t think that the minute amounts of plaque stuck in between your teeth won’t influence your breath. Plaque, regardless of the amount, is still the breeding ground for bacteria and their stinky metabolites.

2. Kick the smoking habit.

If you want to have a fresher breath, then you can start by kicking the habit with finality. Cigarettes contain a mixture of chemicals which can lend a very strong odor to your mouth. At the same time, nicotine actually increases the adherence of plaque on the surface of your teeth which serves as a breeding ground for oral pathogens. For as long as there is plaque present anywhere inside your mouth, oral pathogens will continue to proliferate, ready to produce more of the smelly by-products which cause halitosis.

3. Keep your mouth moist.

Saliva has a couple of functions including allowing you to taste your food properly, but its more crucial function is to serve as a form of check in the proliferation of bacteria inside your mouth. A dry mouth will lead to an increase in the levels of bacteria inside your mouth. Diseases which lead to having a dry mouth include xerostomia or the genetic condition which is manifested by the decreased ability of your salivary glands to produce saliva. Intake of certain drugs, especially antihypertensive ones, can also diminish your ability to secrete saliva.

In order to keep your mouth moist and ward off the excessive proliferation of bacteria, you can try drinking water frequently throughout the day to keep your mouth moist. At the same time, you can try chewing gum in order to stimulate the production of saliva. Make sure to pick out a sugar-free type of gum though.